When I go to a grocery store with a list, once I'm done and have all my items, I go straight to the self checkout lane. I'm not dependent on an employee there to take care of my shopping experience. There'a actually a strong spiritual growth analogy to be learned here that can challenge us toward maturity.

All men want respect. Respect is a godly quality. Yet, it can never be demanded and it will never be received quickly. In this episode, I share a few principles and thoughts around this quality and characteristic that each of want and desire to grow in our lives.

Throughout the Bible, God used men who were available and would be obedient. He didn't create a race of super-heroes to do His work. That should be encouraging to us all. Today, I give you a sample day out of my latest men's devotional, Legacy of Leaders: A 40-Day Journey with the Men of God's Word. I talk about a one-verse guy who acted as close to an Avenger as the Bible gets, but he still just used the tools of his trade to fight his battle.

Being accused of laziness are usually fighting words for a man. But the reality is, because of sin, we always have areas where we are being lazy to some degree. Evaluating and being honest about where we are lazy and then the most important question why we are lazy is crucial to our maturity and growth as men and Christ-followers.

As men, we usually have a resume and a job description. But most of us we end up with a lot of roles, wearing a lot of hats. Then with that, comes expectations and pressures. If we are Christ-followers, God has a job description and clear role for us as well. When we embrace that, it can have a positive effect on all our other roles and become a game changer for us.

As sinners, as flesh, as men, we are going to be tempted to give up on so many things. But actually giving up on anything we are called to do or adopting a lifestyle of giving up or an attitude of giving up is not at all what Jesus died and rose again to give us. Today is a pep talk that when the temptation comes to ... not give up.

Avalanches make the news. Erosion never does. For us men, erosion is the constant killer of our attitudes, words, and actions. But we can recognize and stop erosion before an avalanche is ever a threat.

In God's creation, He factored in starts and stops. In our days and on our calendars, there are starts and stops. When we read and write, there are commas, periods, and chapter changes to navigate pauses, end points, and new starts. In this episode, we look at how God can use those in our lives to hear Him, to obey what He speaks to us, as well as the importance of allowing blank pages in our life script for Him to move and work in and through us.

Our current season of isolation is raising up old and new issues for many.  In idle time alone, temptations are rearing their ugly heads, causing problems. So what can we do? In this episode, I offer some practical principles for protection for these challenging days.

The content here is gleaned from my latest book Believe, Become, Be: Becoming the Man God Believes You Can Be.

We all understand that the enemy wants to destroy, but when crises come, what is God doing? In this episode we look at the biblical pattern of destruction vs disruption. And then looking at the state of the world today, as ourselves, what is the message for us as men who follow Christ?